Architecture is not just the structures, it is the place, the home, the memories, the feelings, the people, and the family, that makes my home different from yours. Humans are complex beings, since the birth of an individual the thought of what people would say starts bugging in their heads. Because we live in a world where our status is determined by what other people think, the places we occupy are also determined by what other people think. And hence the result.
The spaces we inhabit are more than simply walls; they speak with us, send us messages, and tell us tales. The atmosphere of a place is produced by its residents, just as human actions are significantly impacted by the locations and people around them. Both locations and people affect one another and are connected, but what’s remarkable is that the psychology of the people who occupy a space (social psychology) has an impact on architecture.
Impact Places have on People
A person’s mood is influenced by their surroundings, just as one person is influenced by another. The structures that one visits form an image in one’s head, and we begin to recognize places by their names, not of the market but the experience, the one with narrow alleys, the one that had clean streets, that one made me feel happy and so on. Even on a first visit, we try to identify the vibe of a place and decide based on that, whether or not to visit it again.
I firmly believe, a building is not just a building or a structure, it is the experience that makes us want to visit it again. For instance, we’ve all been to a variety of markets throughout the city, some tiny, some large, some crowded, some enclosed, some malls, and some in the neighborhood. Each one is distinct from the others, and each has had a distinct impact. You’d like to go back to some, but you’d never go back to others. Why is that? Have you ever questioned that!
Impact of People on Spaces
If I am happy, the place I occupy is elated, and if I am sad, the space I will inhabit will be gloomy. This might seem correct to some people, but if observed, might even seem correct to others. The atmosphere of the same place changes depending on the mood of an individual. It is applicable in the case of personal spaces, like a home, and an office cabin, but what about community spaces. The question that arises when talking about the impact of people on places is majorly that of public spaces.
These spaces are not occupied by one but a lot, still, the atmosphere of different places varies. Why is that? Well, as a place has an impact on people, so do the people. I am sure, everyone has heard the saying, ‘to light up the room’, where lighting up is not electricity, but the energy of the room. Now, how is that possible? This is exactly how a person impacts a space, it could be positive or negative, depending on the person that occupies it.
The connection of Places and People
‘People create spaces’, Since the beginning of human civilization, humans have been associated with the spaces they choose to live in. The caves, huts, modern houses, palaces, and all the other types of residences are a result of what a human thinks of his/her house. Often people wonder how these two things are connected, while in reality, the two are immensely connected, so much so that architecture can change the mood of an individual and an individual can change the vibe of the place.
Architecture is heavily influenced by social psychology. We’ve all heard that different settings give us varied sensations, which is why architecture psychology exists. For example, how a person feels in a little house differs from how he or she feels in a large one. Similarly, a person’s mood is affected by how congested an environment is and the other way round.
With the increased knowledge of mental health, it has become clear that the environment in which a person lives has a significant impact on his or her mind. In the past, we designed spaces that impacted the human brain due to a lack of architectural and psychological knowledge. Hence the structures that we see around.
This can be seen in the usage of colors in space, for example. Because the human brain reacts to each color differently, we label some colors as happy and others as unhappy. The amount of light, wind speed, number of enclosures, fenestrations, and courtyards, just as the colors used in space, decide whether or not a space is healthy. Aside from that, these minor elements influence how space affects a person’s psychology and vice versa.
